Perhaps the biggest challenge in considering the metanarrative is seeing your individual role in it. Jesus’ role in the metanarrative is clear, but what about mine? This is the typical, and many times unspoken, question. The pedestrian view is that most people’s roles, compared to Jesus, seem insignificant in the massive scope of the metanarrative. If, however, God is sovereign, intentional, and strategic, this means that each person exists to play a role in God’s metanarrative, as noted above.
To discern your role in the metanarrative, you must be able to perceive reality beyond the natural. God is a spirit being not a material being. As the Creator and sustainer of the material world, his perspective and definitions are the most profound and should be the basis for societal norms. Consequently, everything must be measured and understood from his perspective. This is called metaphysical awareness.
Metaphysical awareness changes how we define things such as success and money. The common definition of success is achieving one’s desired results, but Scripture intimates that success is not about doing one’s will, it is about doing God’s will.1 Furthermore, money seems to be the measure of success for most people, but money is simply a tool to be used to do the will of God.2 Wrong definitions about success and money lead to wrong conclusions and wrong choices. This is a major block to discerning one’s role in the metanarrative.
Many professing Christians are unwittingly blocked because they have little or no training in metaphysical awareness, as biblically defined. Consequently, they live like people who don’t know the Lord. For example, money is presumed to be the measure of success. And success is about retiring in order to live as one wishes. As noted above, this is not profound Christian thinking about success and money. Such thinking will not lead us to live aligned with the will of God in the metanarrative.
During his life, Jesus functioned as a son, teacher, discipler, carpenter, and evangelist. But if this is all you see, you miss the most profound meaning of his life. The essence of his life was defined by his relationship to the heavenly Father and his role in the metanarrative as the Savior of mankind.3 Jesus modeled that functionality in life is not the true essence of life. The essence of life is to serve God’s purpose in the metanarrative.
To live wise, successful lives, we must live like Jesus; that is, each of us must seek to discern his or her role in the context of the metanarrative and fulfill that role. This is the only measure of success.
Here is your business tip. Organizational leaders must develop metaphysical awareness and seek God’s purpose both individually and organizationally. Organizational success is measured by alignment with the divinely ordained role of the organization in the metanarrative. To build accordingly requires workers who think likewise. Leaders must resist the temptation to define reality functionally, that is, without metaphysical awareness, and be vigilant to seek to discern God’s will for the organization and each stakeholder in the organization. The most profound metric of success, individually and organizationally, can only be measured by the degree of alignment with the will and ways of God in the metanarrative.
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1. John 17:4.
2. Revelation 3:17-18; Matthew 6:19-34.
3. Matthew 16:13–21.
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